13 August 2009: The naming ceremony marking the completion of construction of a passenger ferry for the government of the Åland Islands will be held today. The ferry, which was constructed in BLRT’s Klaipeda shipyard at a cost of 150 million kroons, will sail under the name Skarven.
The 1A class ferry will travel at a top speed of 13.5 knots (26 km per hour). It is 65.4 metres long and 13 metres wide. The deck has been reinforced to withstand loads of up to 225 tonnes. The ferry will accommodate up to 250 passengers and 60 vehicles.
The Skarven is the first of a new generation of passenger ferries to be constructed in the Baltic States which have been adapted to the needs of disabled people. It has also been issued with a green passport, which confirms that the construction process and its future use both conform to environmental requirements.
150 people and more than 30 subcontractors were involved in the construction of the ferry. Thanks to its cutting edge navigation equipment, the vessel will require a total crew of just four.
The Skarven will be put to the test in very difficult conditions, since its route from Degerby to Svino will cross the Turku-Stockholm route, which in winter is lined with towering walls of ice.
Fjodor Berman, Chairman of the Board of the BLRT Group, says that the strategic direction the group is taking is towards the construction of passenger ferries and specialist ships of up to 100 metres in length. “We have the best know-how in this field and the technical skills,” he explained. The fact that we won the tender to construct the ferry for the Åland Islands – which has historically always been a major shipping centre in this part of the world – underscores that.” The public tender attracted five offers, with quality and price proving to be the deciding factors. The construction of three slightly larger passenger ferries for the Saaremaa Shipping Company is currently also underway.
The Åland Islands are an archipelago of more than 6500 islands in the northern Baltic Sea. With 26,500 residents, they form an autonomous region of Finland. Connections between the islands are provided by around ten ferries. The newest of these was constructed a decade ago at the Naantali ship factory in Finland, which today forms part of the BLRT Group. Due to their location, the Åland Islands have become the shipping hub of the Baltic Sea.
The BLRT Group’s main areas of activity are shipbuilding, ship repairs, manufacturing metal structures, sales of metals, port and stevedoring services, mechanical engineering, processing used metal, car transport services and sales of medical and industrial gases. The group consists of 65 subsidiaries in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia, Finland and Norway. The BLRT Group is Estonian-owned and has created around 2000 jobs locally. Its subsidiaries in other countries have around 1600 employees.
